Tomes of Terror

Session Twenty

Behold Your New God!

6

OCT/15

Evelyn, half-crazy and unarmed, has little choice but to push on forward through the luminous plants. She spots more of the same creatures jumping and darting amongst the undergrowth and as she rushes forward into the dark unknown she bumps into something and is sent flying into a shallow puddle of filthy water; picking herself up she sees that she has fallen over what appears to be something resembling a giant mutant toad the size of a large dog. As she pushes ever further the density of the toad-like creatures increases in converse ratio to the plants which become steadily fewer. A sudden flash of intense lightening reveals the skyline to her left – she sees a mountain range of jagged peaks amidst which something large with pointed ears, as massive as a mountain itself, sits. With no other options left her the deranged FBI agent alters course and heads towards the disturbing scene on the horizon. As she battles through the sea of mutant toads something swoops down from the skies and lands before her – the winged monstrous creature is taller than a man, bearing numerous limbs and a myriad of eyes in a bulbous head. Still unarmed and unsure, Evelyn decides to skirt around the creature and as she does so another one, identical to the last, swoops down and blocks her path. Undeterred, she pushes on and avoids a steady stream of the winged beasts.

Finally, after several hours of arduous trekking, wading across a heap of seething amphibious bodies she arrives at the base of the mountain range. At the foot of the mountains, adored by the moving sea of toads, sits a giant furred form of a being that appears to be the cross between a bear, bat and toad – this is a sight that is so mind-bendingly alien and terrible that it takes the last of Evelyn’s slender sanity. The being’s eyes are closed and it appears to slumber, oblivious to all around it. Without any hope or alternative Evelyn sits amongst the sea of amphibians and uses the light of her cell phone to illuminate the occult book she still carries with her; she leafs through its pages and happens upon an illustration that closely resembles the massive being before her. Reading the ancient Latin text she learns that the being before her is a god known by the name Zathoquah; she spots what appears to be a complex prayer and spell of sacrifice in the name of the powerful alien being. For the next couple of hours Evelyn recites and learns the spell by rote; in order to cast the spell she must make a significant blood sacrifice and the abundance of mutant toads about her provide ample victims. With no readily available weapon at hand to use the FBI agent manages to improvise a bludgeon out of the canvas bag containing the sorcerer’s dyes. For the next twenty minutes she flails at the amphibian mass, injuring several and sending many fleeing in terror before she finally manages to land a significant and deadly effective blow. Shattering one of the toad’s skulls as she screams and sings the prayer of Zathoquah she is delighted to see one of the great god’s eyes lazily open and regard her with an intense stare that fills her with joyous terror and love and she feels the immensity of its power. Zathoquah, roused from his slothful slumber beholds the strange figure of a creature not of his design singing his praise and offering a blood sacrifice – pleased by this unexpected scene he deigns to bequeath his new worshipper a boon of power and a route home. Evelyn scans the horizon and spots a familiar and welcome violet glow in the distance; as the god slowly returns to its slumber the deranged Delta Green operative heads off in the direction of the glow, walking through the sea of toads and ignoring all other things.

Hours later she arrives at the source – a small lake of violet glowing water. Instinctively, she walks straight into the water and submerges herself in the liquid. She experiences an odd rushing sensation and when she emerges from the water she is no longer in the strange realm of the slothful god but is now standing in a dark dank cavern. Using the waning battery of her trusty cell phone, Evelyn emerges from the small pool and ventures forwards until she bumps into a steel ladder which leads upwards. She climbs and finds herself in the sewers – she finds a break in the wall and emerges into a large tunnel and heads off in the wrong direction. She wanders blindly through an endless maze of dark tunnels until she collapses to the floor; hours later she is fortunate to hear the sound of something in the distance – she calls out and footsteps make their way to her to reveal two shocked Arkham city sewer workers. An ambulance crew is summoned to treat the dehydrated crazed woman but when they attempt to remove the old looking tome from her grasp she turns violent and they are forced to sedate her and remove her to the hospital. When Evelyn next comes around she is in a straight jacket, in a padded cell, within the Arkham Mental Health Centre. She sits rocking backwards and forwards, laughing maniacally because she knows she has been blessed by the great Zathoquah; she no longer remembers who she is, where she is or what led her there.

It’s late at night on Thursday evening and Lloyd, Condita and Tricia are still at Lucerne House, conducting their stakeout. Condita delves through the garage and locates nails and spikes the tyres of the car she suspects belongs to Professor Fairbanks. Tricia who is close to the back French doors of the mansions wants to know what Damon was showing the men on the dining room table; so much so that she is prepared to take a great risk. She tries the back door and finds it unlocked; she pushes into the rear hallway and can hear the sounds of two of the men conversing in the lounge at the front. She slithers into the dining room and finds a large pocket map of the Adirondack National Park on the table; she attempts to fold it up in order to take it with her but manages to mess it up, making lots of noise which alerts some of the occupants to her presence – she turns and flees, unfolded map in hand and runs out through the back door, across the unkempt garden and into the woods. She frantically calls her compatriots and they arrange to meet back up at the car which they duly do; they then return to their motel and spend the whole night studying the stolen map for clues and online for a connection concerning the Adirondacks.

The next day Lloyd is woken from his slumber by a phone call from the editor of the Arkham Advertiser, John Macrone. He informs the freelance reporter that something is occurring on South Garrison Street – Police have cordoned off the road and Macrone wants Lloyd and Condita down there asap to find out the scoop. They take the Panda down the wrong direction and waste 10 mins before turning around and driving to the correct end of the street where they finally realise that they’ve been there before – it’s where Professor Fairbanks’ house is! The trio attempt to bluff their way through the cordon but the police are having none of it. Tricia sneaks into the adjacent street and trespasses through two gardens and into the rear of the house directly opposite the Professor’s. From her new vantage point she observes that both the Professor’s house and his neighbour to the right’s front doors are both open and policemen are coming and going; there is also a couple of ambulances present. Unfortunately for Tricia she was spotted crossing the gardens and the nearby police are notified and capture her; luckily she has left her firearm and ID in Lloyd’s car. Her phone is confiscated and she is taken to the cordon and ejected.

The trio talk briefly and Condita decides that she will head over to the hospital and wait for any casualties to be transported from South Garrison Street. Tricia’s brush with the law makes her decide to take herself back to the motel to continue researching the Adirondacks. Lloyd opts for staying put at the cordon and seeing what transpires; a short time later a crowd of gawkers and fellow journalists gather and an ambulance leaves the scene. At the hospital Condita calls Detective john Stubbs and unwisely begins to honestly answer all the seasoned investigator’s questions – she is informed that a squad car is being dispatched to take her down town to get her statement.